Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2012 - Travel Clip - Grimstadt/Norway

It was his comeback competition and the Colombian began exactly where he ended last year: on top of the podium receiving the winner's trophy. In a thrilling head-to-head battle from 27 metres, reigning World Series champion Gary Hunt was the lucky loser and the last diver to go through to the final at the season opener on the island of Corsica on Saturday evening. More than 1,200 people on boats saw Steven LoBue, from the United States, take his first ever second place, with Czech diver M...

In 2012 this unique championship will once more be the platform for the world's most dizzying dives in seven stops between June and September in Europe, North America and the Middle East. In the blink of an eye, gravity lets the diver's bodies fall the equivalent of eight stories, reaching speeds beyond 85kph. With no protection whatsoever, and animated with thrilling tricks, the hand-picked athletes rely on their professionalism and experience as their bodies turn into Formula One torsos. Wh...

We explain the basics of cliff diving: why is 27Metres (and not 25 or 29) the standard height? What is the scuba divers' job? Why does it only take 5 metres of water depth? What make the athletes dive from almost three times the Olympic height -- the thrill and the challenge of this spectacular sport? And is it possible to dive head from this height? For your reference: the height is comparable to an eight-storey building, the divers fall free for three seconds before they hit the water at 8...

In the next five months, and during eight competitions, the cliff diving elite will launch from almost three times the Olympic diving height in venues all over the globe, showing their most spectacular and difficult tricks, and overcoming rational fear to impress the judges and spectators alike. And to spice it all up, the 2013 World Series comes to its scariest location first: La Rochelle, France. © Red Bull Media House

Welcome to Bonifacio. Perched on a limestone pedestal, Bonifacio is one of the most spectacular towns in the Mediterranean. The citadel walls and ancient houses appear to rise seamlessly out of sheer cliffs that have been hollowed and striated by the wind and waves. Beneath, an inlet about 100 metres wide forms a natural harbour, home to a busy port. Only 12 kilometres from Sardinia, the town is distinctly more Italian than French in atmosphere, and even has its own dialect based on Ligurian...

Pure cliff diving directly off the cliff face, the reigning champion on top of the rankings and the youngest athlete on the podium – the circular-shaped Vila Franca do Campo islet offshore from São Miguel in the Azores archipelago made the perfect backdrop for the third stop of the current World Series season. Despite rough conditions throughout the entire week, the previous seasons’ dominant figurehead from the British Islands took over the reigns from Russia’s Artem Silchenko in Portugal to...

Gary Hunt (UK) heads English-speaking podium at second stop of 2012 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series The winner of the World Series 2010 and 2011 was the lucky loser in the season opener two weeks ago and made it to the top podium position at the second stop of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series this Saturday afternoon. In foggy and rainy conditions Englishman Gary Hunt claimed victory in Grimstad, Norway, ahead of the American divers, Steven LoBue and Kent De Mond. Close to 400 boats c...

From an almost round volcanic islet on the Azores to a near-perfect rectangular blowhole in Ireland – the location for the fourth stop of the World Series is laden with myth as much as it is out of the ordinary. A sea serpent is said to make its presence felt with the help of screeching, stormy winds. The legendary Serpent’s Lair on Ireland’s Aran Islands provides the perfect pool for the world’s cliff diving elite at the halfway stage. Three different winners in as many competitions make the...